Stubborn Love
by Xploited
Summary: Brucas one-shot inspired by the beautiful song by The Lumineers


Stubborn Love

_I was listening to the Lumineers which inspired a quick Brucas one-shot. Enjoy and please leave feedback J _

I pounded heavily on the red door for the third time. I knew within the deepest contents of my soul that I was certain now. For so many years I doubted the guidance of my heart. It screamed to me that she was the one and I buried it. Always submerged in fitting the molds of somebody else's love story, I was certain that Peyton had been the one for me.

She was the one who rang absolute in my mind. I pined after Peyton in the peak of my adolescence. Before joining the Ravens and before spiraling down my inevitable fall into the darkness that killed the one relationship I felt truly alive in.

I thought that the comfort in our pre-written story was enough for me. That it was going to keep the foundation in our relationship solid. My happily ever after would be fulfilled if I had the equally brooding blonde by my side. But I made a mistake.

There was no fire between us anymore. The peak of our ignition was when we preformed an adulterous act. The lure of forbidden lust disguised itself as true love to my heart and I followed it blindly. Leaving behind the pieces of her beautiful heart on the ground for her to pick up.

Rain was now pounding heavier against the wood cover of the porch, the wind shoving the droplets into my face in an almost spiteful way. I fought the urge to scream her name into the wind but as I knocked for the fourth time. Staring up to her window I caught the first sight of movement.

I don't know what it took for me to succumb to this realization that Brooke Davis was the one for me but I didn't have time to speculate on it. She was slipping quickly from my fingers and I knew better than anyone that she needed somebody. I broke her and I needed to fix her. She was the fire that burned the inside of my chest.

I should never have expected her to welcome me back with open arms when I first made an attempt at starting over. Flashing back to the images of Chris Kellar lying smugly beside her porcelain skin had been burned into my brain. Blindly, I lashed out her. Feeling a portion of the pain I inflicted on her is when I truly knew the magnitude of my mistakes.

_She'll tear a hole in you, the one you can't repair  
But I still love her, I don't really care_

I was angry, withering into a man that in no way resembled me. I had seen this same change in Brooke at the end of our relationship. Too blind to address it I carried on with the guilt swallowing me whole. Even at her apology I tore her into pieces all over. Insult to injury. I thought I was putting my all into getting her back and the turn of events involving a one night stand with Chris set me off.

But as she sadly left my bedroom I knew that what I had put in before was a pathetic effort in comparison to what I was capable of. To fix a relationship so broken I had to sweep her off her feet.

_When we were young,  
Oh oh, we did enough  
When it got cold,  
Ooh ooh, we bundled up  
I can't be told,  
Ah ah it can't be done_

"Brooke, please open up!" I called in direction of her window, willing with everything I had that she heard my plea. There was no want that compared to the sensation taking over my body. The thought alone of her touch again brought goose bumps to my skin. I longed for that dimpled expression to look at me with all the love in the world. The way she used to.

_It's better to feel pain, than nothing at all  
The opposite of love's indifference  
So pay attention now,  
I'm standing on your porch screaming out  
And I won't leave until you come downstairs_

I saw the flash of her coppery brown hair pass by the window. After a moment the window creaked and I saw the face that made my heart soar within my chest. She hung her head out, looking at me with a guarded expression.

"What are you doing, Lucas?" She called down, her brows furrowed in anger.

A cover for the pain I had caused her. I stood my ground, staring up in the darkened look of her hazel eyes as rain dripped from the tips of my hair.

"Come downstairs, Brooke." I moved to get a better look at her as she watched me cautiously.

"You made yourself clear, Lucas. We're done. I get it." She inhaled a sharp breath "please just go."

I shook my head defiantly. "I'm not leaving until you come to the door." It took every inch of self-control in my body not to scale the wall of her house to meet her at the balcony of her window. Brooke paused, battling her internal conflictions on whether to abide to my pleas.

Without a word she closed the door and I waited in a silent anticipation. After what seemed like ages the door burst open and there she was in all of her fiery presence.

"It's pouring, Lucas. Just go home." She folded her arms across her chest, not leaving the entrance of her door.

"Brooke, I –" She cut me off before I could continue.

"What do you want from me, Lucas? I begged for your forgiveness. I apologized. I can't keep doing this cat and mouse with you." Her full, red lips pulled into a tight line "I can't take back hurting you."

_I don't blame ya dear  
For running like you did, all these years  
I would do the same, your best believe  
The highway signs say we're close,  
But I don't read those things anymore  
I never trusted my own eyes_

I stepped towards her, hearing her pull in an anticipated breath. The wind blew her hair slightly and I guarded her from the unrelenting rain with my body.

"And I can't take back hurting you either." I penetrated her eyes with my own as they softened in confusion. "But Brooke, I'm the guy for you. I have always been the guy for you. And more importantly, you're the girl for me."

"Lucas –" her eyebrows etched up in a pained expression.

"You would have never slept with Chris if I hadn't broken your heart the first time. I was so wrong, pretty girl. So wrong. I fooled myself into believing our relationship wasn't right for me." I clenched my jaw instinctively, steadying my voice. "But damn if I am going to let you slip away from me again. It's always been you and me, Brooke. And that's how I want it to remain." Reaching out I cupped the soft skin of her cheek.

"Lucas, I can't even forgive myself for what happened with Chris. How can you look past this?" she leaned herself into the palm of my hand as I brushed away the stray tear that escaped her eye.

"I forgive you, Brooke." I said softly, taking another step closer to her.

"How can you?" Brooke shook her head in dismay.

"I just did." I closed the gap that was left between with us as I found her lips. The lips I had been longing to taste again. She stepped her body into me, wrapping her arms around my waist as our bodies radiated all of the heat of emotion and passion in that moment. I pulled back, searching her eyes for the look I once took for granted. Her hazel eyes danced with the love and longing that paired my own. "I love you." I told her in a husky whisper before pulling her back into me again.

My tongue traced along the outlines of her lips as she granted me entrance and I was greeted with the taste that was solely Brooke Davis. There was nothing else like it. I snaked my hands behind her neck, cradling the head of the girl I was fully in love with.

As we broke for air again and the rain dripped from each of our faces, blending in with the shed tears her raspy voice tore into my soul with four simple words. "I love you too." We both broke into a smile as the words settled into each of our hearts. For the first time, I felt complete.

_So keep your head up, keep your love  
Keep your head up, my love  
Keep your head up, my love  
Keep your head up, keep your love_


End file.
